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wait, is this a thread to discuss the first movie or mewtwo strikes back?
cuz the title says mewtwo strikes back, but the description in the op makes it sound like pokemon the first movie.
id give pokemon the first movie a 10/10 (you cant beat the classics)
and id give mewtwo strikes back a 9/10 (pretty good, but not as good as the other one)

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wait, is this a thread to discuss the first movie or mewtwo strikes back?
cuz the title says mewtwo strikes back, but the description in the op makes it sound like pokemon the first movie.
id give pokemon the first movie a 10/10 (you cant beat the classics)
and id give mewtwo strikes back a 9/10 (pretty good, but not as good as the other one)

Pokemon the First Movie IS Mewtwo strikes back.
In the title screen to the movie it says Pokemon - The First Move: Mewtwo Strikes Back!

In your two ratings, I guess you might be thinking of Mewtwo Returns rather than Mewtwo Strikes Back or something.

Saw this at midnight last night.
Dammit, I just can't get thought this movie without crying. This a movie that everyone needs to see, honestly.
I know quite a few people who can learn from Meowth's quote and Mewtwo's quote.

Hm always loved this movie though these days I keep thinking it could have been derailed if someone had a dark type on them. Mewtwo would try to use it's power on the thing but it would be uneffected in any way and easily defeat him. Yeah I know this was made in first gen but their were some others gen two pokemon during the movie like marril, snubull, and dolphan so an umbreon would not be that unlikely.

Ick, I was really fan-girly many years back x_x... not that I'm not fan-girly, but I like to lay out my thoughts now over why I'm fan-girling or getting mad at something. So... proper review from me, yaaaaaay. Especially since I've actually now personally watched the original Japanese after the longest time.

Getting it out of the way: original is so much better when it comes to the morals. It handled everything maturely and in a well-mannered way. There's no “Pokémon aren't meant to fight, not like this (not like thiiiiiis)” being shoved in your face. They briefly, briefly say in the dub that they're all living creatures, but in the original, that was what they were talking about the entire time: how they're all alive and that because of it, who cares how they were born, just don't fight like this. Jessie and James made it even more deep by mentioning how it's liking fighting with yourself, as though your old-self and your new-self met face-to-face and started trying to murder each other. I'm sure we all have felt this way about our old selves however-many-years ago, but there is no reason why you should be beating yourself up over it. Now that's powerful. And while that's going on, that was what Mewtwo and Mew were doing above them. Mewtwo really was determined to prove he was just as strong as the original, even if it meant going so far as to murder Mew. Well, it was more-or-less hinted at, but he said that only he should be the one alive, so yeah.

The origin was too short, there should've been about an extra five minutes into the first ten minutes, seriously. The CD drama was so much more powerful even though both the anime and the drama have similar pieces of dialogue, it's just that the CD drama went into more detail. I understand that it's due to time constraints, but there should've been a bit more to Amber (or Ai in this case) and Mewtwo's relationship than what we got. I was actually a bit surprised how while I do like the original here, the dub may have actually done things slightly better with it. I don't know why, exactly, but it's possible the music may have something to do with it (though I'm kinda biased about "Tears of Life" since it's one of my favorite pieces of music). Both versions use a revamped version of the music that would later be used in the climax—which is a great decision—though the voice acting was a bit more dramatic with the scientists in the dub xD. The woman's voice bothered me in the original of how deadpan she sounded, though I guess it could make sense if she's really tired, but considering how much they sacrificed to get a clone to survive, you'd think she and the others would get antsy a bit more over it.

Just a personal nitpick of mine.

Moving on to the star of the movie, Mewtwo is verrrry tragic. He was nothing more than just an innocent kid asking questions whose friends die before his eyes within a short period of time, and he's forced to forget about it because he'd end up accidentally killing himself otherwise. He then wakes up who-knows-when to find out he was nothing more than just an experiment over whether-or-not humans can play God (even though it was to create the world's strongest Pokémon, but that was implied, too). He kills his creators only to have Giovanni show up and trick him into believing that he needs to control his powers or he'll destroy the world—which is most likely true, but Giovanni ends up just using him for his own needs instead of what he promised. (Giovanni has to be devil incarnate when it comes to Mewtwo, I swear.) Then he goes, “Yeah, Pokémon are of no value to humans, because we're more superior,” which ticks Mewtwo off and it convinces him that humans are nothing more than a plague for controlling everything without a second thought just because they think they can (survival of the fittest, Mewtwo, but he doesn't really know that). He then takes it a step further by saying Pokémon are pieces of trash because they allowed humans to be their superiors. So because of that, he pretty much intimidates everyone by talking down to them, taunting them (“Yes, I will let you humans go, that is if you can make it safely through the storm.” o.O), and just kicking them to the curb over and over again just to prove his dominance and that he deserves to be better than humans. And all this because he was manipulated and used for evil purposes instead of being allowed to willingly discover who he is over time. Just because he was created to be a weapon doesn't mean he wants to.

So yeah, you can't blame him for getting really angry at everything because he was being taken advantaged of and thus screwing his perspective up (he may be intelligent, but he does learn like any other living being). The dub kinda touched upon some of this, but they made him become a villain by declaring a war against the world just because it dared go against him—which doesn't really make sense because he hadn't yet learned more about the world to make a proper decision, but it's villainous, gotta make a Pokémon evil just because! He was still a badass either way, though, his motives were just much more clear in the original. I'm also torn between whose voice is sexier, Philip Bartlett's or Ichimura Masachika's. Also, I wonder if Philip Bartlett could actually sing*SHOT*

But in the meantime, Mew in the original really wasn't above it all compared to the saint-like version in the dub. Mew was kind of a jerk. Oh yeah, you say the originals will win because their power is more natural and thus real, and yet you're perfectly willing to let them fight to their deaths to prove it. Yeaaaaah, “god or devil” indeed. Though even “saint” doesn't work here, either, because in the dub Mew still didn't show that much of a concern over it. Hypocrisy before Mewtwo was a hypocrite, hooray!

I still love the two of them, anyway.

I can't find the words to talk about the human characters for whatever reason (even though the side characters in this movie were okay, albeit still a bit memorable), but Ash really shines in this movie. It's like everything he did in the show was leading up to this point to show how much determination, trust, and love he has for his Pokémon. In a way, when you compare him to the Ash from the first episode, he really had grown a lot as a character. He may have had similar ideas prior to before he started, but he had to learn more about them, and it just comes to a head here. Like how he was willing to give his life for Pikachu, he actually went out of his way to give his life for all of the Pokémon there.

Which leads to the climax everyone remembers and apparently cries over. “Tears of Life” will forever hold a special place in my heart (though the soundtrack was awesome in the original—that organ for Mewtwo's theme), but there was something much more powerful about just absolute silence that left a very heavy atmosphere. After all that happened, it just hadn't yet settled, and even if it did, it had come down hard. I didn't cry, but the emotions were there; helps everything was just pretty quiet during that part, and I live in a fairly noisy home. In the meantime, the Pokémon tears really didn't get any explanation in the original. All Amber (I mean Ai) said in the very beginning was, “Only humans cry when they're sad, Pokémon cry because their bodies hurt.” Sure, I suppose it was a way to take her words and expand upon them, but nothing was said about Pokémon tears carrying life or bringing people back to life. That's why I feel the warden's legend exposition in the dub was needed so it didn't become a deus ex machina that leave people confused (even though had the ten-minute origin remained, Amber would've had it covered).

The problem both versions have, however, is the ending. Both endings apparently pretend to forget none of this ever happened. Mewtwo in the English version was at least kind enough to say, “It's best if you forget about this,”, but Mewtwo in the original goes, “Yeah, I learned something, but I don't care about these humans learning an important life lesson,” and then tells Ash that they will find a place to stay because they're alive, but that's it. Seriously, Mewtwo, I know you're still not trustworthy of humans, and that you were taking your anger out towards them, but that's a bit of a dick move. Wouldn't it have just been better to erase your own face from their minds and make them question, “Hey, I wonder who that guy was, and if he learned anything about this to better himself as much as we're bettering ourselves.” You know? Keeps it from being a really good movie.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo's ever-quoted speech was deep in the dub. Unfortunately, it doesn't really fit in with everything else because of the dub trying to insert in a moral that didn't really need further explained to take over the moral of what your purpose in life is. I don't know what exactly made them do this, but had they just left things alone or at least not tweaked it as bad as they did, perhaps the dub would've been much better.

So yeah. 4KIDS' dub is a mess that shouldn't have happened but is too late to fix now (but is still a guilty pleasure for the nostalgia), however, we thankfully still have the original to help clear things up. I doubt the movie will be released with the original Japanese here in the States, though I think that just makes watching it elsewhere all that more worth it. This I feel was why Mewtwo has become so popular in the fandom because we got to see him in action, and also because he is one of the better written characters in the entire series, thus he sticks out a lot in memory. I really know of very few characters in the series, humans and Pokémon, who were as deep and tragic as Mewtwo, and I really doubt we will at the rate things are going. But I think that helps with his uniqueness in the fandom, and why I love his character and this movie so much, flaws and all.

This is the first ever Pokémon movie I watched.......and I really, really loved it! The part with Mew and Amber(the scene wasn't included in the movie DVD, but it's in Mewtwo Returns DVD)was heartwarming, it's understandable why Mewtwo destroyed the lab after the scientist cloned him.
I really liked the scene where Ash and the other trainers Pokémon were fighting with their Clones, that sure was brutal! Mew vs. Mewtwo was awsome too.
It's so cool when Ash was destroying the clone machine for saving Pikachu. He was really cool and brave in this movie......I liked how he came out of the smoke like a boss and tried to PUNCH Mewtwo!! Despite being powerless, he was really brave.
It was freaking epic when Ash jumped between Mew and Mewtwo's attack to stop the fighting, Ash's sudden action surprised everyone(including Mewtwo)and they stopped! But................
Ash turned into stone after getting hit by the two attacks. Ash's Pikachu ran up to him, tried to wake him up by zapping him with Thundershock.......but it's no use. Pikachu started to tear up, and all the other Pokémon too. It's a really emotional and sad moment in my opinion. The scene where the tears brought Ash back to life, was touching. I'm glad Mewtwo finally realized his mistake at the end.

Overall this is a fantastic movie. In fact, this movie is one of my favorite Pokémon movies. *Sigh* Re-watching "Mewtwo Striks Back" brings back so many memories.

So I saw the original Japanese version of this movie out of Dogasu's recommendation and I have to say it was brilliant. Far superior to the English dub in almost every way with one execption. I do like the line "The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are" from the dub but the only thing. The Japanese seiyuu Masachika Ichimura from Mewtwo was excellent and overall gave a better performance than the late Phillip Bartlett no offense to him however. The late Shudo Takeshi really did craft one helluva movie.

Really? Is it that expensive? I'm glad I got it a few years ago on the Target discount family movie rack, for $5. It still came with a trading card and an offer for a 19" CTR TV.

The movie's been out of print since November 2009, hence the high prices.

The remastered version is probably the best version we'll see. It's interesting that they re-titled the opening sequence-I was wondering what would happen. Sound wise, it seems like the Mewtwo "in your head" effect may have been toned down, but I'll have to check my DVD version to compare.

Just watched the remastered version on CartoonNetwork. Overall, it looked nice and all, but they also cut out a few parts from the original english dub. Unless I missed it for some reason...

Originally Posted by yoshi1001

The remastered version is probably the best version we'll see. It's interesting that they re-titled the opening sequence-I was wondering what would happen. Sound wise, it seems like the Mewtwo "in your head" effect may have been toned down, but I'll have to check my DVD version to compare.

I missed it because I don't have cable, and it came to my attention last night 8(. I bet it looked really good remastered. And if the last part is true, does that mean when they remastered the audio, they had to make a few tweaks in some places? But I have to wonder why they did that, exactly, air the first movie remastered. Kinda reminds me of when Japan did it last year before the 16th movie aired, just... reversed. Maybe the 16th movie didn't do well on Cartoon Network for whatever reason or something.

*suspicious*

Originally Posted by yoshi1001

The movie's been out of print since November 2009, hence the high prices.

Lol, oh yeah? Didn't know that. I remember finding the DVD in the five-dollar bin at Wal-Mart, but I don't know why we didn't buy it especially since at the time, we were looking for movies we owned on VHS to buy on DVD. (Aw, that means Pokémon 2000 and Secret of the Unown are out-of-print, too... right?)

Oh well. Hopefully this is a sign they are re-releasing it on Blu-Ray/DVD. (In that case, while I don't want to get my hopes up since it seems very unlikely, I would really appreciate it if they put the original Japanese on it.)

I doubt it's a sign of anything, really. The remastering was done a year ago for the Japanese Blu-ray box set, CN/TPCI choosing to use this remaster for this rerun instead of the old copy from way back then doesn't have to mean they're planning to use it for a home release as well. They're just using it because it exists, and is superior to the alternative.

IAw, that means Pokémon 2000 and Secret of the Unown are out-of-print, too... right?

2000 has been out of print since 2010 and the third since 2011 (notice a pattern?). Technically, the third movie is still available...on iTunes in the UK (I think it wasn't shown in theatres there, so the apparent 10-year expiration may not apply).

Originally Posted by Dephender

I doubt it's a sign of anything, really. The remastering was done a year ago for the Japanese Blu-ray box set, CN/TPCI choosing to use this remaster for this rerun instead of the old copy from way back then doesn't have to mean they're planning to use it for a home release as well. They're just using it because it exists, and is superior to the alternative.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. I think that something will come out of this, perhaps in some form of digital distribution (Netflix, iTunes, cable/satellite on-demand, etc.). If Miramax can keep selling movies 4-7, 1-3 must have some sort of market.

Wait, a remastered version of this movie was shown on CN? I had no idea; talk about terrible promotion. What things were changed?

Originally Posted by Kutie Pie

I remember finding the DVD in the five-dollar bin at Wal-Mart

Lol. It was being sold for $1.99 at my local Target a few years ago and I bought the last copy. I've only watched it once since I purchased the DVD though. I bought the DVD on the spur of the moment simply because it was so cheap and I had misplaced my VHS copy.

2000 has been out of print since 2010 and the third since 2011 (notice a pattern?). Technically, the third movie is still available...on iTunes in the UK (I think it wasn't shown in theatres there, so the apparent 10-year expiration may not apply).

Guess it makes sense, 4KIDS had the rights to those movies, and Miramax shared the label for movies four through seven (which I discovered, funnily enough, they combined all four movies into one DVD for whatever reason, which suggests the movies may not be sold individually anymore). At least it'll be a while before Mystery of Mew copies go out of print... I think, unless it was under the Pokémon Company label or something.

Oh, well... at least I still have the VHS copies of the first two movies, and DVD copy of Heroes. I can't complain.

Originally Posted by Lorde

Wait, a remastered version of this movie was shown on CN? I had no idea; talk about terrible promotion.

Yeah, I have to question the little promotion as well. Then again, I don't think I have the right to talk since I don't have cable and don't go on the website, so unless someone can come out and say that CN hardly advertised it, dismiss my comment here.

Though I will be honest in that I don't know if I would've watched it anyway. After watching the original, I can't see myself watching the dub unless I really wanted the nostalgia trip and listen to Philip Barlett. And have proper surround sound to relive the movie experience.

Cartoon Network almost never advertises Pokemon outside of when Pokemon actually airs on CN or Boomerang. It doesn't advertise much outside of the show it over saturates its channel with anyway. I mean, did any of you know that Giratina and the Sky Warrior was airing on the same day on Boomerang? Or see an ad that the Genesect movie+prologue will be airing next week? Basically, you'll almost never see a Pokemon advertisement outside of Pokemon's time slots or if it's grouped with an advertisement for the rest of the Saturday morning block.

The movie doesn't age well but I still liked it. Very nostalgia heavy for me.

Last edited by Vernikova; 6th January 2014 at 4:50 AM.

Fighting for real American turtles everywhere. Pro-Turtle since 6/30/13

Cartoon Network almost never advertises Pokemon outside of when Pokemon actually airs on CN or Boomerang. It doesn't advertise much outside of the show it over saturates its channel with anyway. I mean, did any of you know that Giratina and the Sky Warrior was airing on the same day on Boomerang? Or see an ad that the Genesect movie+prologue will be airing next week? Basically, you'll almost never see a Pokemon advertisement outside of Pokemon's time slots or if it's grouped with an advertisement for the rest of the Saturday morning block.

The movie doesn't age well but I still liked it. Very nostalgia heavy for me.

Its airing next week? Thanks for the info. I haven't seen the movie yet and I wasn't really feeling like waiting for the DVD. Speaking of poor advertising I haven't seen any hint of the traiker for XY on CN, granted I barely watch it anymore but still. XY comes out on CN in less than 2 weeks. You'd think they'd be heavily hyping it.